


AkiRen Week 2019

by Avalon_Rhapsodos



Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game), Persona 5
Genre: M/M, Other, Plot bunnies are rolling harder, Plot bunny strikes at 6 in the morning at the start of AkiRen week? Hell yeah, Thought I was being clever but I really doubt it LOL
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-06 05:56:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18382349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avalon_Rhapsodos/pseuds/Avalon_Rhapsodos
Summary: Hi all. I'm absolutely using this as an excuse to put off the next chapter of Bloody Saviors because I seem to have hit a brick wall on the next chapter. Sorry guys.





	1. Day 1: Best Friends/Worst Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the most dangerous enemies are the ones inside your head.

Akira felt his stomach twist as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. The bruises were still there, covered up by cheap foundation and even cheaper concealer. His black eye had finally begun to go down in swelling, though it still hurt to so much as blink sometimes. Angry red marks circled his wrists from the cuffs biting into his skin.

To put it simply, he looked like _hell_. Too rough for a seventeen year old boy who was trying to save the country from a horrible dictator, however questionable their methods were. Sometimes the end justified the means. He firmly believed that he and his friends were in the right, that changing the hearts of corrupt adults was the only way to save the victims they threatened. But the pain he endured, the struggle of fighting through palaces and protecting his friends...he wondered if it was really worth it sometimes.

Had they gotten in over their heads with this mess? What started out as a small band of friends working to seek justice for one of their own had snowballed into a _family_ that sought out evil to protect the greater masses. First Yusuke, then Makoto, Futaba, Haru...Goro...

He wondered what would have happened if he hadn't founded the Phantom Thieves. Perhaps Ann would have given in to Kamoshida's demands, maybe Yusuke would have followed the other pupils in their same grim fates, Futaba would likely still be holed up in her room and blaming herself for her mother's death, Makoto would be some sex toy or dead in a back alley and Haru would be stuck with Sugimura and a father who couldn't care less that his daughter wanted to live.

A jaw-cracking yawn tightened a few muscles in his jaw that shot fire through his nerves and left a throbbing pain in the back of his skull. Sleeping since the interrogation had been hard, between the pain and the nightmares and the flashbacks that Morgana shifting on his chest would sometimes cause. Stupid things, but they were enough to cause problems.

Sometimes he could still feel a hand tugging his hair too hard, or a full four knuckles sinking into one of his eyes. Before he'd thought that he'd experienced the worst pains of his life from claws raking into his sides or fire singeing his skin through his coat. Going through those long, painful hours had changed his mind more than he'd liked.

They had plans to infiltrate Shido's palace soon, but the lingering pain really made him think twice. Made him rethink a lot of things, honestly. They were just kids. Teenagers throwing themselves in harm's way and they were ready to charge in head-first to challenge the future Prime Minister and change his heart. The palace leaders had steadily been growing in strength since the beginning, and Akira would be a fool to believe things would be different now.

It would be so easy to message the group chat, call the infiltration off indefinitely and continue to site his injuries as an excuse. Let things run their course and make sure that all of his friends would be safe, at least for a little while. No risk, no chance of death, nothing. Just surviving under Shido's eventual iron grip. It wouldn't be that difficult, right? Keep their heads down, maybe separate...Akira would have to continue playing dead, to protect himself and his friends.

He knew they wouldn't let that fly, though. Even if he wasn't with them they would walk into that cruise with their heads held high and their drive carrying them all the way to the treasure. They needed him, just as much as he needed them. His friends had been his saving grace since he'd been released; every day one of them would come check on him, play games with him or just simply sit and talk with him. They meant everything to them, and he was their leader. He couldn't let them down.

A voice in the back of his mind suggested he turn that train of thought on himself, and realize that he couldn't let himself down either. Doubting his abilities and his skills and his friends would only lead to trip ups and costly mistakes in the long run. They fought shadows and demons on the regular basis but goddamn, fighting his own was more draining than a palace run sometimes. They had become steadily more vicious since his incarceration; now it felt like they were beating against his head over and over and over _and over and over_ -

The sound of the stairs creaking pulled him from his thoughts. Instinctively he slipped down into a crouch, the position burning in all the wrong places, and waited with bated breath for his guest to be visible.

When two tiny blue eyes peeked at him from around the corner he forced himself to straighten back up and tucked his hands into the pockets of his sweats. Morgana hesitated just a moment before padding over to twine himself between Akira's legs.

“You okay? You don't look so good,” he chirped. Akira dropped down to one knee to stroke a hand slowly across Mona's back before bringing it underneath the feline's chin to scratch it. “Hey, don't stall! I want an answer!”

“I'm not. I'm just...trying to figure out how to word it,” he explained quietly. For a little bit the only sounds in the attic were the occasional creak of the wood settling and the constant vibrating purrs beneath Akira's hand. He settled down onto his backside before pulling Morgana into his lap and setting a hand on his flank.

“You ready to talk about it now?”

“Yeah.” Akira fought back a sigh and reached up to scratch an itch behind his ear. “The interrogation just sort of...brought a lot insecurities out, I guess. Doubting myself, our choices, our motives...it makes me worry that I'm not good enough to be a leader. That I'm a bad friend.” Morgana raised his head from his paws snuffed at him.

“You shouldn't think like that. You've been with us since the very beginning, and you've always been a great leader. The choices that you've made have carried the Phantom Thieves farther than we could ever have imagined, I'm sure. We trust you with our lives because we know you trust us with yours. We're your friends because you're a good person, and because you deserve us. We couldn't imagine doing anything else but this, now.” Akira chuckled softly and slid a thumb across the back of Morgana's right ear slowly.

“Yeah. Guess you're right. It's just hard to think that way after everything we've gone through. I mean, one wrong choice, one little accident, and each one of us could have very well ended up dead in a palace, or Mementos. Doing this for so long, having everyone rely on me to make decisions and keep us safe...it gets to you after a while. I'd been having doubts before but after getting arrested everything just seemed like it was worse. That plan shouldn't have worked. It was hair-brained and a shot in the dark at best. If Akechi hadn't fallen for it, if Sae hadn't gotten him to go into the Metaverse, she would have been carrying my corpse out instead of my barely-conscious body. Realizing how close I got to death just made everything seem so much more real. Scary.”

Talking about it seemed to be helping. The tension he'd carried for the past few days seemed to be melting off of him. The aches in his body felt like they were some sort of far away dream that refused to disappear with the rising of the sun. They lingered, but they weren't overpowering. The haze that had clouded his mind and judgment the past few days began burning away, and it felt _wonderful_. Morgana seemed to realize this, as he slowly picked himself up and made his way over towards the bed.

“They may seem more real and more scary, but you should remember you aren't going through any of this alone. You have the Thieves to help and support you.” He carefully hopped up onto the bed and began lazily kneading the recently-replaced comforter. “It's late, Akira. You should try and get some sleep. We've got a big day ahead of us,” he said. Akira pulled himself up from the floor and followed after his companion to happily crawl underneath his covers and let himself drift off into a pleasant and restful sleep.


	2. Day 2: Working Hard/Slacking Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira pushed the group a little bit too hard in Mementos one day. Ryuji decides to spend the next one relaxing and unwinding with his best friend. They find a new thing to make lazy days like this meaningful.

Akira, honestly, would rather be anywhere else than Mementos right now. There were no palaces to raid, not right now anyway. Madarame's had collapsed the week prior and now all that was left was to wait for their next target. On a whim Akira had suggested they dip into the collective unconscious for a quick training session, but they'd been there for the better part of two hours now chasing treasure demons to restock their supplies and maybe get some better armor and weapons. They were sore, they were tired, at least two of them had complained about being hungry already, but Akira wasn't quite ready to call it quits.

“Just one more...just one more Regent. Then we can go,” Akira insisted. He rolled his shoulders and popped a chewing soul in his mouth before swinging back into Mona's driver's seat. The door slammed shut just as the others opened and the rest of his team made their way inside. Ryuji settled down into the seat next to him with a tired groan.

“Dude...I dunno how much more I can take. My legs're fuckin' up. I need to let 'em rest.” Akira had noticed that the more tired Ryuji got the lazier his speech would be, and a part of him found that absolutely adorable. “Can I sit the next fight out?”

“Yeah, sure. I think we can get a Regent quick enough now,” Akira promised, leaning over and patting Ryuji's thigh absently before they took off. He noticed the blond squirmed ever so slightly, but decided not to comment on it. They had to go off and get another treasure demon, and the longer they waited the more difficult they would be to find.

Surprisingly luck was on their side, as the next floor down they managed to find one behind a cracked wall. Just as Akira promised the fight went smoothly, and Akira happily pocketed the cash from dropping the thing. With tired and lazy steps he dragged himself off to the bus and crawled up into the seat to get them to the next landing so they could pop up to the entrance finally.

Leaving Mementos had never been such a welcome feeling, the distortions disappearing and leaving them bone-tired and ready to just go _home_. There were a chorus of goodbye's and see you tomorrow's as everyone peeled off. Akira barely made it upstairs and into his nightclothes before he was flopping down into his bed and into unconsciousness.

The next day he was woken up by his phone...ringing? Who the hell would be calling him at the asscrack of dawn? He sleepily swatted around on his makeshift bedside table to find his phone and struggled to swipe his thumb across the screen to answer it.

“H'llo?” 

“Hey man. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today? Mementos yesterday killed me so I'm wantin' to just dick around today. Maybe play some games?” The gears in Akira's head took their sweet time kicking on, but when they did he gasped suddenly and pulled himself up into a sitting position.

“Oh shit. Shit, yeah, I don't mind,” he hummed.

“Dude, did I wake you? Shit, I didn't mean to man. I'm usually up right about now getting' ready to run so I didn't think about lettin' you sleep in. Be over there in an hour and a half, probably. Give you some more time to sleep.” Akira was silently grateful for his friend's consideration and hummed quietly as Ryuji bid him good morning and hung up. Akira managed to drop his phone on his table before crawling back under the covers for a little bit more sleep.

The sound of Ryuji tromping upstairs woke him up later, and with the added benefit of an extra hour of sleep he felt decidedly less grumpy about it. He yawned and scratched at his hair and slid out of bed slowly to greet his friend.

“Hey. Brought you some breakfast, figured you might want somethin' other than curry,” Ryuji said as he raised a plastic bag at his side. Akira snorted and rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Don't let boss hear you say that. He might get offended,” Akira teased. Ryuji flashed a warm friendly grin and rolled his eyes. The bag was deposited on the table beside the TV as the pair set up the attic for their lazy day.

They settled on to the floor side by side, controllers in their hands and easy grins on their face. Taking an easy day off like this...Akira didn't realize how much he'd needed it. He didn't even get to take a bath last night to ease his muscles and he _deeply_ regretted that now. Everything hurt from his head to his feet; it felt like someone had dropped a cinder block on top of him.

“Fuck man, I'm so sore after yesterday...think we could hit the bathhouse today?” Ryuji asked suddenly. His controller clattered to the floor as he leaned back onto his palms with a painful hiss. “Feels like I got hit by a truck...”

“You know, I was just thinking that. Stop reading my mind,” Akira laughed and began pulling himself up to turn the game system off. Ryuji did the same, taking a moment to stretch his muscles out with a groan. Once they were ready they happily made their way out of Leblanc and off towards the bathhouse to soak their cares and pains away.

When they felt the heat of the water seep into their bones they both let out appreciative moans and leaned back against the edge of the wood. It took them a few seconds before they both slid down further into the water almost in sync. They shared a smile and tapped the back of their hands against each other under the water.

“This is the life...runnin' around in the Metaverse all day 'nd then comin' to soak in a nice hot bath. Feels so nice. Like we really accomplished somethin', ya know?” He let out a quiet sigh and closed his eyes to continue relaxing. “The days we're runnin' around are great, but it's the days after when you can just relax 'nd be lazy that really makes what we're doin' stick. Makes it feel serious.”

Akira looked over to his best friend, his right-hand man, the one who had been with him since the beginning, and something in his chest swelled. They'd become so in tune with each other during their time fighting together...and the sudden realization that he had fallen for his sweet bumbling nerd slammed him in the face. He felt his breath stolen from him and a huge smile spreading across his lips.

“Yeah. You've got a point. Couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else in the world, either,” he hummed. The look Ryuji gave him almost reminded him of a deer in headlights. The slight blush on Ryuji's face only made it cuter. Was it because of the heat or Akira's weird almost-yet-obvious confession?

He was given his answer in the form of Ryuji very shakily taking his hand to squeeze it.

“...I couldn't imagine doin' it with anyone else either,” he muttered nervously, and the blush spread further. Akira felt a laugh bubble up in his chest before he leaned forward and set a hand gently on his friend's cheek. There he hesitated, waiting to make sure that he'd understood Ryuji right. When Ryuji leaned forward and pressed their lips together he felt his heart sing.

If this were what lazy days would consist of from now on, sign him the _fuck_ up.


	3. Day 3: First Day/Last Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's Akira's first day with his new partner unit; he'd been informed of changes in the AI's algorithm, and he's meant to test them out himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so like...I've had this idea for a hot minute since I just recently finished Automata myself. I _might_ expand on this at some point? Maybe just little drabbles, no big pieces planned for this one yet. If I do I'll post this chapter in its own work as well.

Akira (that was the name he'd given himself, at least; his official designation was 4K1RA, though his navi had quickly agreed to call him by his chosen name) waited nervously in the command room for his assigned partner to show up. They were a newer model, just rolled out today, and he'd been informed of some...emotional tweaks to the AI. The scope of these tweaks hadn't been revealed to him; he was going to be this one's test partner. Someone that was trusted enough to help test a prototype was a high enough honor as it stood; with Akira still being so young himself, it showed his worth even more.

When the doors leading in to the command room opened, Akira could easily say it felt like he'd stopped breathing. The model was beautiful; frail features, pale skin, striking eyes, hair that looked soft as silk...a part of him felt jealous. He knew he was a combat model and looks weren't really the priority, but sometimes he'd see another android that he thought looked better than him and feel a spark of jealousy.

“Ah, there he is. Unit 4K1RA, meet Unit G0R0.” His partner stopped in front of him, face completely blank with a passive posture. He almost seemed...submissive, in a way.

“Hi. You can call me Akira.” The commander scoffed, but paid the name no mind; he wasn't the first one to give himself a proper moniker. Officially the practice was frowned upon, as it could cause intense emotional attachments that could lead to irrational decisions in the heat of a battle, but everyone, including the commander, would turn a blind eye to the practice. The reasoning was probably that it fostered synergy between partner units.

“Akira?” The unit seemed to hesitate a bit, confusion flashing across their face for a moment before smoothing out into passive neutrality once more. “If that's what you wish to be called, then I will.” Akira offered one of his trademark smiles, and G0R0 tried in vain to mimic the expression.

“And if we're gonna be partners, then you need a name too. Let's see...how about...Goro? I think that'll work.” Again the new unit seemed confused but decided offering up an argument wasn't fitting here. “Goro. It's got a nice ring to it. From today on we're partners. Hopefully we get along pretty well.” This time, Goro's smile seemed a little more at ease, a little more genuine, and Akira flashed a matching one in return.

“I hope so as well.” The commander cleared his throat again, and both Akira and Goro turned to him.

“Take him to his room, then show him around the base. After that I want you two to take a trip topside, see if you can cull some of the shadows back. They've been getting too close to an important settlement.” Akira nodded and moved to take Goro's hand to lead him around. Instead of taking it he snatched it back like a petulant child. There was fear in his eyes, the intense kind a unit only displayed when the odds were against them on the battlefield, before it filtered away immediately.

“Forgive me.” Akira laughed awkwardly and reached down for his hand again; this time he was met with a strong grip.

“They said they made some tweaks to your AI. Just part of the learning process, I guess. Come on, I think you're in the room next to mine.” He was met with no resistance and vaguely noted that Goro felt light compared to other models he'd been partnered with. It seems they'd made modifications to internal systems as well.

Sure enough, Goro's room was just to the left of Akira's. The inside was bare, unsurprisingly; he hadn't been on any missions, and as such hadn't collected any keepsakes yet. He didn't have many of his own, just things he'd collected while hunting shadows or had been given as thanks for helping out some of the settlers. The bed was just a little bit bigger than Akira's, but if he remembered right the last unit to have this room had been one over six feet tall. Maybe he would come over here for the occasional nap to let his systems recharge and cool down.

“This is...where I'll be staying?” Goro asked softly. He sounded almost amazed at having a space of his own. Akira thought it was cute. “...Which room is yours?”

“The one to the left of this one. They usually stick partner units right next to each other for ease of communication,” Akira explained. He waved a hand around the baren space and hummed in thought. “It looks too empty. I don't like it. Wait here.” Goro stood stock still as Akira dipped out of the small room and over to his. When his companion returned he carried...a small collection of books and a chessboard with him.

“Wha...?”

“Here. To start your keepsake collection. These were given to me by some of the people I've helped. Oh, but I scrounged this book up in some old ruins. The pages are all crisp though. No damage anywhere,” he said as he held up a thick black book bound in leather. Goro could recognize the language on the front as French, but nothing more. “It's kind of sentimental, but today's a sentimental day. It's our first day as partner units! Once you've gotten a little bit used to this place we'll head up and see how you handle in combat. You...are combat-equipped, right?” Goro nodded and shuffled around awkwardly.

He almost seemed...hesitant to fight. Newer models almost always had pre-combat jitters the first few times, but Akira felt confident that they would disappear after a few fights. He knew a place where there were usually weaker shadows prowling around, and if one of the slightly bigger beasts reared its ugly head Akira could deal with it easily enough.

Today would be a good day. Akira could just _feel_ it.


End file.
